The Story of an Experience
by shinouyuki
Summary: The contents of this story, this tale, or this creation was based on the memories gathered from a time spent in the game Ragnarok Online.
1. Prologue

If you wake up and find yourself in a different place from what you remember, would you continue on your path, or would you rather sleep again in hopes of recalling something important?

I woke up and found myself in a rather unfamiliar place.

"I may have been warped," was what I said to myself, "or probably tricked again."

Moving forward, my eye chanced upon a stranger. I approached this person.

"Excuse me, do you know this place?" was what I asked this passerby clothed in a brown-plated armor.

"I believe we're on the same boat," he said in deep reverie, "Are you a n00b as well?"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked with much confusion.

"Ah, I see," he started to say, "What is the last thing you remember?"

"I…uhm…" was my struggling answer, "I…remember….a pretty different place from this."

"Any place is as different as this one!" he said with a loud voice. "Anyway, let me tell you the brief background of this place."

I kept quiet.

"This is the entrance to a holy land, a dimension that is unbeknownst to us. Even though it looks like an abandoned castle, this is the place wherein only those qualified can enter; and destiny determines your own path in this land," he said as if reading from a manual.

"If we enter, then what would happen?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

He answered me with, "Your world in this dimension will start and your world in the last place you remember will end."

At first I didn't understand what a beginning and an end meant, for it was all too suspicious for someone to pass a border like a fleeting dream; but, my ignorance led me to my dear fate.

"Will you enter through this place then?" I asked innocently.

"I'm afraid my destiny does not belong in this dimension. You can join me elsewhere if you desire, but I have no intention of staying here any longer," was the only reply I got.

"Where will you be going?" was my question.

"You see, there are different dimensions that lead to the same place, but it is the same only in the appearance of the cities and nothing more," he told me whilst looking at his watch, "This place is called Iris and the place I am going to is called Fenrir. Of course you are free to go anywhere; however, only when you have decided to end your new life in a certain dimension can you then transfer to another dimension. I do not have any more time to waste, so tell me, are you coming with me or not?"

I was overloaded by the information I just received from this man. I thought more and more of my future but ended up unable to move any further.

"Thank you very much," I was finally able to say, "I will be going to Iris now, I hope to see you in my next life in Fenrir."

"I hope you'll enjoy your time in Iris. This is goodbye then," were his final parting words.

He disappeared from my sight as I was filling up with regret. I waited a few minutes for him to come back, but he never did appear again. I approached the gates of the castle and noticed two guards standing beside them. I took a few steps to take a closer look, but found out they were merely robots controlled by the Gods from above.

"Welcome to Rune Midgard!" one of them said in a monotonous voice.

The other, however, looked at me from head to toe and then greeted, "Welcome! We are the guards of this castle. We are the protectors of this land."

After their predestined speech, as I figured, I walked on and entered the big castle. There were no doors, neigh, there was nothing at all, just portals that lead me to a queer room.

The room was dark and yet the walls were decorated with torches. It resembled an old-fashioned castle, but I could never be so sure.

Seemingly, the only options I had were to move forward, or to turn back and move through the portal once more. Looking back at the portal, I sighed. 'I have gone far enough to end my journey now,' was what I thought to convince myself.

I moved forward.

The torches dimly lighted my way until I found a friendly figure standing in front of me. I felt a sort of relief when I saw it, and I guess that's why I called it friendly.

Approaching the said figure, it spoke first, "Welcome to Rune Midgard! I am the keeper of this pass. I can take you to world itself, or I can give you an introductory lesson. Do you wish to take this course?" The keeper said this in a livelier tone, but I knew someone else controlled him.

He gave me a set of choices; and being the curious person that I am, I asked to take the course.

"Thank you. Have a nice lesson," he replied.

Instantly, I felt that I was transported into another room. This time four paths lay ahead of me and none pointed to whence I came from. This might have been what the passerby said about a beginning and an end. That once a precise decision has been made, no other can ever bring you back to your previous life.

Although, one thing continued to bother me, why was a guy like that wandering around that area where new lives were destined to fall? Why walk the path of another dimension if the place you seek does not lie in that place?

My mind scavenged for answers, and the only thing I conclusively thought of, was that people make mistakes. It was possible that that man previously lived in this world and reminisced the moments of his prime. Then after realizing everything was a mistake, he comes back to the beginning, to once and for all end it and start anew.


	2. Chapter 1

Three choices. Left. Right. Forward.

Three significant options that I found conflict in resolving. Before I was able to make my decision, I then noticed what my confused mind was unable to perceive. A nice fellow stood a few meters away.

Nearing the place where that fellow stood, he greeted me. He said he was my guide and that I needed to talk to some people who will be able to tell me more about the world of Rune Midgard. He also added that each one had their own specialty and missing one could become a big loss.

This fellow never moved, he only told me where to proceed to from afar. He had a welcoming air around him, although from time to time I couldn't help but doubt his intentions.

It occurred to me, just for a few times, that he might be a robot much like the two guards I met earlier. However, I always did dismiss that thought saying, "He's just too kind to be like them."

I realized later on, though, that these people were part of what they called NPCs. Non-player characters, or predestined robots programmed to facilitate certain things inside that world. These things were needed, I suppose, to maintain peace and prosperity.

After learning so much from that place, I finally understood how everything worked. I was even tested with how well I fight, but I was never suited for combats from the very beginning.

The qualities, I had, normally lacked a sense of power in strength. Patience, intelligence and speed were my major points, you see; and I had a hard time swinging my knife at those monsters. Most of the time I missed, and sometimes when I hit it right, it's as weak as a slap on the face.

The NPCs already informed me of different creatures lurking about the forests, as well as actual people, just like me, so I didn't scream as much when I saw the monsters in the testing field. In all actuality, I thought those pink blobs and furry balls were cute. I didn't think the small caterpillar was as appealing as those two, but they weren't at all creepy or scary. They didn't even attack me, or at least they didn't hurt me when I don't hurt them.

Moving on, I was able to leave that training ground in one piece. Or maybe, I wasn't supposed to be alive when I left that place. I died around five times, and still I am here. What is death anyway? Why didn't it exist there? I wondered for a long time.

A portal was located a hundred steps away from where they originally warped you, and the point of the test is, to reach that place. I learned a few things on the way, as I dedicated my time and experience to learning and improving my intelligence.

When I reached that portal, it took me to a place, a room perhaps. All I saw was a dimly lighted area with a man standing on an elevated part. Some people—real people—were already there and thinking it was safer, I approached the man. The man was an NPC, just as I guessed.

He asked me a ton of questions and I answered as truthfully and as nobly as I could. I knew helping others was a big dream, but I kept that in mind as the guy asked what I would do during different situations.

A result came out—acolyte. 'What?' I asked myself, 'ACOLYTE?' I was really wondering why this man would refer me to becoming a man of God. Well, I had a different knowledge of a God, then, but after hearing what acolytes do, I understood fairly well. My dream was going to come true.

After telling me of the result of his test, he asked me to choose from a set of options. It included following the result of the test, choosing another job, simply heading straight to the real world, or cancelling. Thinking it was such a good opportunity, I followed his recommendation and he wished me good luck.

That was probably the very last test of the introductory lesson because as I reopened my eyes, I found myself in a small graveyard. Noticing the names on the tombs, they were priests, bishops, archbishops, and much more. What could that place have been? What was the purpose of bringing me to such a place? Was it another test? Or maybe they simply wanted me to see the beauty of the path of God. That no matter whether you are alive or dead, your soul is cleansed and your name will be cherished forever.


End file.
